Obamacrats Woke the Bear

Jonah Goldberg sez:

In March 2010, liberal columnist Peter Beinart argued that, for decades, Democratic politicians treated America's innate conservatism like a slumbering bear: If you make no sudden moves and talk quietly, you can get a lot done. But if you wake the bear, as Democrats did in the late 1960s and early '70s, the ursine silent majority will punish you.

But Obama promised to change that. He was tired of the timid, almost apologetic talk. He was going to be an FDR, or at least a Reagan for liberalism. He was going to "fundamentally transform" the country. And to those who counseled that Democrats can't govern that way, Obama and his followers responded with shouts of "Yes, we can!"

You might think it was those shouts that woke the bear, but that's not what happened. After all, Obama enjoyed stunning popularity when he entered the Oval Office.

No, it wasn't words but deeds that roused the beast. The poorly crafted, deeply partisan stimulus was like a sharp stick to the bear's belly. But it was "Obamacare" that ended the hibernation.

The real problem is not democrats, not republicans, but all of them, with their "foot in the aisle" tactics, concentrating on discrediting each other for the sake of the party, and minimal concern for the country. Either side can name countless examples of the other's gaffes, usually embellished by omission of certain details. It is time, at this critical time in our history, for both parties to start thinking honestly about what they're hearing from the other side, and giving it's merit some honest consideration, instead of focusing on it's flaws.